


Envy: The Only Thing She Wants

by NeutronStarChild



Series: Seven Sins of Inuyasha [3]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Canon Compliant, Duelling, F/M, Hurt, Seven Deadly Sins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26585479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeutronStarChild/pseuds/NeutronStarChild
Summary: Kagura knows Sesshōmaru will never understand. She will never have those things that everyone else does, because she does not control her own fate. But maybe now, maybe today, she can take her destiny in her hands; that is, if Sesshōmaru sees fit to grant her the only battle she’s not afraid to die for.Incredible commissioned art bytu1ipa!
Relationships: Kagura/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)
Series: Seven Sins of Inuyasha [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1931326
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26
Collections: Inuyasha's Seven Deadly Sins





	Envy: The Only Thing She Wants

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by [Fawn_Eyed_Girl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fawn_Eyed_Girl) and [Ruddcatha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruddcatha)

[ ](https://tu1ipa.tumblr.com/post/638468309465137152/hey-ppl-merry-xmas-i-wanna-show-you-a-commission)

Artwork Commission by [tu1ipa](https://tu1ipa.tumblr.com)

* * *

“You do not mean what you say.” His icy golden eyes penetrate her to her core.

He does not even know why she’s here fighting him; she’s asking him for the only thing he can give her, because her freedom is out of even his reach.

“I said,  _ draw _ .” Kagura lifts her fan, fury in the place where most others have a heart. She never will get what she wants—she knows that—but if Sesshōmaru refuses her even now, she truly will have lost all hope.

“Why.”

Kagura flicks her lacquered weapon, creating blades of wind. She is done talking.  _ Why _ , he asks? Because she would rather be free in death than a slave in life.

“Because I hate you.” Kagura’s answer is easier than the truth.

Sesshōmaru dodges the crescent-shaped daggers of air effortlessly, still fixing his gaze upon the heartless demoness in front of him. She knew he would, but she wants him to fight back.

“Lies do not suit you,” he has the gall to smirk.

Kagura’s crimson eyes flash with rage.

“Dance of Dragons!” she cries. It is her strongest attack. She needs him to take her seriously. To  _ see _ her. Because the only person who sees her is Naraku. And she wants more than anything to escape those unsleeping eyes.

This gets the daiyōkai’s attention, and he draws his sword, using it to at least partially deflect the onslaught of purple vortices bearing down on him. It is what she wanted. Him to take this duel—to take  _ her _ —seriously. After all, no one else has .

She is forgotten more than she is remembered, an afterthought except when Naraku needs someone to do dirty work for him. She envies everyone whose heart is their own.

Hers sits in her cruel master’s hand. He sometimes plays with it. Just to remind her of her place. She has been tempted to try to destroy him and just let him crush her heart.

But she knows he won’t. He is having too much fun keeping her under his foot. He will chain her up and torture her. He has before. He will make her beg for death or reprieve and then deliver neither. He has before.

That is why she is here. In front of the only man she can stand dying to.

She doesn’t even know if her body will die, or if Naraku will resurrect her and force her to continue living her chained existence. But she doesn’t care. The freedom she feels in this fight to the death is exhilarating.

“If you desire a duel, then we will  _ duel _ !” There is fire in Sesshōmaru’s eyes. He looks angry, and Kagura can finally breathe. He will give her the death she seeks: the only gift he is capable of giving her.

Sesshōmaru swings his sword and sends a wave of energy at her. Kagura flicks her fan upward, deflecting the wave around her. He is still not putting everything he has into this duel.

“Why are you hesitating?” Kagura demands. “I am a slave of Naraku, your sworn enemy. If Naraku orders it, I will hurt you and everyone you care about.”

They exchange a deadly look, understanding Kagura’s threat:  _ Rin _ . Yet instead of exploding as she hopes, Sesshōmaru studies her, seeking answers in her eyes and in her actions beyond those she has given freely. A quirk to his lips is all the warning she gets that he has found some of what he is seeking.

“Because.” Sesshōmaru has the gall to smirk. “You continue not to answer my question.”

_ Why _ .   
Why is Kagura throwing away her life in this pointless duel? One she knows she can’t win?

Because she’s already facing down another fight she can’t win. A fight he refuses to help her win. A fight she wants to escape. A  _ fate _ she wants to escape.

“Because death is better than a life in chains,” Kagura says. It’s the truth.

No one who has freedom truly understands the gift that it is. Inuyasha and his friends are free to fight for what they believe is right and good. They are free to pursue Naraku to the ends of the earth. Even Kikyō, resurrected clay and bone, is free to go where she pleases, do as she pleases, and live and die as she pleases. And Sesshōmaru, the only one capable of defeating Naraku, is  _ free _ to walk away from this fight, away from  _ her. _

Sesshōmaru pauses and considers her, then thrusts his sword into the ground, ending the fight.

“WHY?!” Kagura explodes, throwing out another, more powerful, ‘Dance of Dragons.’

Sesshōmaru deflects it with the sheath of Tenseiga, causing Kagura to howl in frustration and defeat.

“Because I do not want you to die,” Sesshōmaru says simply, as the last of the purple tornadoes dissipate. “When I defeat Naraku, I will break your chains.”

Sesshōmaru turns away, not sparing her another glance. Kagura wipes away the tear that comes to her eye, grabs her feather, and flies with the wind.

Perhaps, after everything, she  _ would _ be free, like everyone else.


End file.
